Partnering For Progress

One of the goals of our SmartHomes project is to partner with for-profit companies to develop new technologies that improve the quality and efficiency of services to individuals with developmental and related disabilities.

One of our longest and most fruitful collaborations along these lines has been with CaraSolva. CaraSolva’s Product Suite is designed to automate and simplify the daily tasks performed by nurses and professional caregivers.

Over the past three months, Direct Care Professionals at Imagine!’s SmartHomes and other residential settings field tested CaraSolva’s Mobile MedSupport on the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Below, you can read a press release issued by CaraSolva about the testing process and the results from the test (SPOILER ALERT: the results were very positive!).

Thanks, CaraSolva, for leading the way in demonstrating how for-profit and not-for-profit organizations can work together to find new solutions using technology to better serve some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Imagine! completes Quality Assurance of CaraSolva Mobile MedSupport on iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab

The Direct Care Professionals at Imagine!, over a period of three months, tested CaraSolva Mobile MedSupport on the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab. They reported that the tablet touchscreen interface and the ability to move easily around the care home was an enjoyable experience and allowed them to dispense and report meds more rapidly and accurately resulting in reduced medication errors.

Imagine! is based in Lafayette, Colorado and provides support services to more than 2,600 people of all ages with developmental delays and cognitive disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome.

Mobile MedSupport is the version of CaraSolva’s popular MedSupport product, optimized for use on touchscreen tablets. MedSupport prompts and allows caregivers to report outcomes for medications, vitals, treatments and other care tasks.

CaraSolva Mobile MedSupport is now available and will be free of charge to current customers for a 3 month period.

Kevin Harding internationally recognized guru of Smarthome technology waxed ecstatic about this step forward for mankind. “This is probably one of the coolest pieces of technology that I’ve seen. Way better than the transporter on the Starship Enterprise.”

Globally known Intellectual Disabilities Business Development Tsar, Greg Wellems, stated, “Frankly this is a huge leap. It would not surprise me to hear CaraSolva and Imagine! mentioned in the same sentence as Microsoft, Google, and KT’s Barbecue.”

Donna's Diary - July 2011

Back surgery didn’t keep Bob and Judy SmartHome resident Donna from completing her online diary this month! She’s a real trooper – and the support (and nice gifts) she got from some of her roommates sure helped keep her spirits up. Read all about it below – and be sure to wish Donna a speedy recovery!

Well, although the past couple years have been the best years of my life, right now life is a little bit painful. I’m just sitting here in my PJs after getting home from the hospital last night after having back surgery yesterday. I had a space between my vertebrae that’s not supposed to be there and they fixed it. I can’t believe they got me in and out of the hospital in one day.

When I got home last night, I didn’t expect anything but my sweet roommate Mandy have me a plant, and her mom gave me a box of chocolates. Of course my husband Gerald is giving me some extra special love and attention, which means a lot to me. Today before he left the house he gave me a big hug. I think this is harder for him than it is for me.

I’m going to lay back down in my cozy bed now because as you can imagine, I don’t feel very well. I’ll be OK though and will write more next month.

Check Donna’s previous online diary entries here.

International Tourist

We continue to draw international interest in our SmartHomes project.

Yesterday, Thilakam Rajendran, Managing Director of India-based ARUNIM, took a tour of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder.

According to their website, ARUNIM strives towards creating opportunities for people with moderate to severe disabilities following an entrepreneurial approach to ensure that persons with disabilities can actively participate in the global economic growth.

Ms. Rajendran’s tour is yet another example of how more and more organizations are looking to Imagine!’s SmartHomes as a new, efficient, and sustainable model for providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities

Thanks for touring, Ms. Rajendran!

Haven’t toured our SmartHomes yet? Sign up for a tour now!

Green Efforts Reap Rewards

For Imagine!, creating a new, sustainable way of assisting some of our most vulnerable citizens meant creating a comprehensive plan for increasing efficiencies while improving services at the same time. The development and construction of our SmartHomes was the result of this planning, and using green technologies and building techniques was a natural extension of this effort.

Those efforts are certainly paying off.

Comparisons with one of Imagine!'s conventional group homes indicate that the Charles Family SmartHome's high efficiency furnace is yielding savings of approximately 50% in both costs and natural gas use. For example, we saved 116.29 (in therms per month) and saved $3.37 (in dollars per day). See the chart below for more details (you can click on it to make it bigger).

It is good to know that we can be good stewards of the environment and save money in the process!

Senator Bennet Staffer To Visit SmartHome

As part of our ongoing efforts to bring the message to the highest levels that technology offers new and efficient ways to deliver services to some of our most vulnerable citizens, we have scheduled an Imagine! SmartHome tour Tuesday for James Thompson, Regional Director for US Senator Michael Bennet.

Mr. Thompson’s tour follows on the heels of last month’s tour by US Representative Jared Polis.

It is encouraging to see that our ambitious and promising project has caught the attention of our federal legislators. We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, Mr. Thompson!

Tetra Tech Runs For SmartHomes

Lat month's Tetra Tech Run for Imagine! was a resounding success! The funds raised went to support the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont.

Here’s a report from the event from Julie Vlier, an Imagine! Foundation Board member and the organizer of the event:

The weather was great for the Tetra Tech/Imagine! event. We were decked out, wearing some super T-shirts, too, thanks to Forrest (Fleming, Imagine! Foundation Board member) and Instant Imprints (see pictures below). All-in-all we received $673 in contributions!

After the event we convened at Left Hand Brewery and Eric (Wallace, Left Hand owner and former Foundation Board member) was kind enough to get us set up with cool beverages and a contribution to Imagine! for the drinks that were sold to our group! We also enjoyed Georgia Boys BBQ, and are planning on another $25 (+/-) from this new Longmont business.

Thanks to all involved, especially Julie for making it all happen. We really appreciate it!

Julie Vlier, Tetra Tech Manager of Water Resources, Imagine! Foundation board member, and the event organizer, is second from left.

Gerald The Trailblazer

Did you know that before we built our SmartHomes, resident Gerald Stopa was Imagine!’s 2007 Consumer of the Year? Check out the video below, which was made at the time. It shows him using some of the technologies that were later adapted for use for other residents. Gerald has always been a trailblazer, and we’re sure glad he acts as an ambassador for our SmartHomes!

Wes and Toby Practice On Their Communication Devices

Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont residents Wes and Toby are both working hard on learning how to better use their Dynavox communication devices. They are playing fun (and educational) games that are teaching them how to use the devices to interact more effectively with others. Keep up the good work, guys!

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHome

Two groups are touring the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont soon, one local, and one all the way from South Dakota.

Representatives from South Dakota Achieve, an organization with a mission to “find innovative ways for people with disabilities to achieve their dreams,” are coming out next week to see first hand how technology is changing the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Also scheduled to tour the SmartHome are members of Longmont’s Faith Community Lutheran Church. The generous folks there Church contribute financial support to Imagine!, and has members who receive services from Imagine!.

Thanks to both for touring.

Interested in your own tour? Then click here.

A LIttle Help For Our FRIENDS

We continue to share what we have learned throughout the process of developing, building, and operating our SmartHomes with any organizations interested in what we’re doing. Yesterday, SmartHome project manager Sterling Wind met with the good folks at FRIENDS of Broomfield (who are right up the road from us) to discuss applying SmartHome lessons to their new building.

Presentable

SmartHomes project manager Sterling Wind and PR guy Fred Hobbs will be presenting this September at The Arc’s 2011 National Convention in Denver, CO. The topic will be "Using Social Media To Connect, Communicate And Network Regardless Of Ability/Disability."

Way to go, guys!

Rebecca Tests Cell Phones

We’ve mentioned before that SmartHome residents have been teaming up with the University of Colorado’s Assistive Technology Partners to test a variety of technologies in the hope that the technologies will provide more opportunities for independence and more community involvement for those with developmental disabilities and related disabilities.

Recently, Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Rebecca tested some cell phones.

To test the ease of use, Rebecca was:

1. Given a phone number, and asked to place a call using that number. To start, the phone was on, with the home screen showing.

2. Given the name of a person in the phone’s contacts list, and asked to find that contact and place a call to that person. To start, the phone was on, with the home screen showing.

3. Given a calendar date and told there was an appointment in the calendar on that date. They were asked to find the appointment and tell me what it is. To start, the phone was on, with the home screen showing.

Check out the pictures below of Rebecca hard at work.

To see other examples of SmartHome residents testing out new technology, click here or here.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHome?

Touring the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome yesterday were Arnie, Becky, Gordon, Megan, and Zeke from Mission Supports. Mission Supports is a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to the personal development and care of Denver citizens who have intellectual developmental disabilities, and are presently on the Medicaid Waiver waiting list for funds and critical services.

The wait list in Colorado is a huge concern and one of the deciding factors in our decision to move forward with our SmartHomes in the first place.

The folks from Mission Supports sent us a nice message about the tour via our Facebook page:

It was a great experience to visit your home yesterday! Yes, the technology in this house is beyond belief, but we noticed that the people who live there were happy and well taken care of as well. So, thank you Gerald, Donna and John for the wonderful greeting and to Sterling for an informative and interesting tour. Thanks for letting us visit your home!

Thank you, Mission Supports, for the kind words and for the important work you are doing.

Interested in touring the SmartHome? Just click here to make an online reservation.

Table Topic Two

We mentioned in an earlier post about a generous donation of a table to the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont. The existing table was not a good fit for the heights of the different wheelchairs used by the six residents of the home.

The table has been delivered and is in use! Take a look at the pictures below.

Wes At Beach Boys Tribute Band Concert

Those of you who know Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont resident Wes know that he is a huge Beach Boys fan. So he was delighted to be able to attend a recent concert featuring Kahuna Beach Party, a Beach Boys tribute band, during the Longmont Downtown Summer Concert Series. Looks like he had a great time!

Donna's Diary June 2011

SmartHome resident Donna keeps an online diary/blog of her activities at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder. Below, see what she had to say about jobs, birthday, and a special visitor to the SmartHome in her June diary entry.

June has been another great month that has had me on the go. My husband Gerald started his first job at Twisted Pine Brewery, my birthday was last Friday, all of us who live at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome went out a couple weeks ago to the FAC at the Millennium Hotel , and a Congressman, Jared Polis, took a tour of the SmartHome this week. My job at In Clover has been busy, and I’m enjoying the warmth of the summer weather.

On my birthday last Friday I went out to dinner with Gerald, my housemate Lana, and Cailin, who works at the SmartHome. We went to Applebee’s and I had the shrimp. It was delicious. Gerald had some fish and he ate almost all of it which surprised me. He doesn’t eat a lot, but when he does he goes all out. My friend Chloe brought me a present too. It was a roll of coloring paper, a box of crayons, and a box of art markers that you make dots with. She’s a wonderful friend.

Going to the FAC at the Millennium was fun. I liked everything about it, the music, the food, and hanging out with my friends was the best part. I’m really glad I live with active people who like to do things, and that the staff are willing to take us to a lot of places. We’ve got a really good thing going here at the SmartHome.

Gerald is so tickled to be going to work. He has spent a lot of time learning his numbers. Just yesterday Richard from CORE/Labor Source came to the house to help Gerald work on his numbers and it went really well. They worked on numbers above 100, which is a new step for Gerald. It’s great that he’s learning to identify his numbers so well. He’ll need to be precise when he counts bottles at work. The teens are still troublesome at times but that’s understandable. I think they’re the toughest numbers to learn.

I’m so proud of Gerald and all he does. A couple days ago someone asked me how in the heck does he operate his chair? They could see that he wasn’t using his hands. I took them over to Gerald and they were amazed he could operate the chair with his head. He’s a neat individual. And his family, that family is awesome. I’m still so happy his dad asked me to call him dad. Right then I knew I was accepted into his family.

I prefer the warm summer weather to the cold of winter. Today it was 95 out, and I wasn’t complaining. Life is so much easier in the summer. No snow and ice, and you don’t have to grab a jacket, scarf, and gloves to go outside. Today me and Gerald sat outside enjoying the warmth.

My job at In Clover is busy. We put out 112 bags of supplements today, which is a lot. They had a couple new orders they needed right away so we buckled down and helped them fill the orders. I’m not planning any vacations soon. With both Gerald and I having jobs, we figure we’ll work it while we can.

We’ll watch fireworks this weekend on the 4th of July, and that’s about it for now. Whew! Thanks for keeping up with me.

Presentable

Tomorrow, SmartHomes project manager Sterling Wind will be presenting at the No Barriers USA Summit on “Designing for Exceptional Needs.”

Sterling will be presenting with University of Colorado Associate Professor Melinda Piket-May and students in professor Piket-May’s class who have worked on projects to design simple adaptive technologies that aid increased independence for some of the folks Imagine! serves, including some residents of our SmartHomes.

Click here to see some videos of the students demonstrating their projects.

This is a great example of how other organizations are seeing that the technologies we are using to serve those with developmental disabilities can be applied to those with other disabilities.

Take a sneak peek at their presentation below.

Good luck, Sterling, Melinda, James, and Lauren!

Designing For Exceptional Needs

View more presentations from Fred Hobbs